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Sometimes Smartphones Require Smart Solutions

HTC One X No SIM Card Error Message Fix

Submitted by James Bond on Sat, 01/19/2013 - 5:20pm

Have you started getting a SIM card not detected, No SIM, No SIM Card in Phone, SIM not found, please insert SIM card or any SIM error messages on your HTC One X? This issue is not good; if your phone isn’t reading your SIM card then your phone isn’t going to have service! And if you have no service then what’s the point of having a mobile phone? Luckily there are some things that can be done to get your device working correctly again.

Faulty design

is usually due to a bad SIM card or damaged SIM card tray, this issue on the HTC One X however seems to be a overly common issue due to a faulty SIM card set-up as a result of poor design of the unit.

Let’s cross our fingers and hope this isn’t the case with your phone. There are some tricks we can do to get your SIM to read correctly if your phone falls into this category but let’s go over some other tips to try first.

SIM card

If you can, then try inserting your SIM card into another phone to see if it’s working correctly. If it works fine in another phone then it’s not a problem with the SIM being defective. Go ahead and plug it back into the One X.

If it doesn’t work in another phone then your SIM card is bad and needs to be replaced. Go down to an authorized retailer or call your service provider for a replacement SIM. Don’t let them charge you for it.

Software Bug

Let’s hope it’s just a glitch or software bug that’s causing this issue. If it is, then a simple backup and reset will fix the phone. And lucky for us this phone backs up a lot of its information automatically so a backup is a breeze and a resets even smoother.

Backup suggestions

Backup Contacts

Gmail - Your contacts should already be saved online through your Gmail account. To check, go into your Settings > Accounts (or Accounts and Sync) > check your Gmail on that page (write it down if you won’t remember it, you will need it later) > Click your Gmail account > make sure that Sync Contacts shows the days date on it. If it shows the days date then your contacts are saved to your Gmail account online and when you log back onto your Gmail account once you reset the phone your contacts should automatically pull back. If it doesn’t show the days date then you need to click on the Sync now button (note: connecting your One X to a Wi-Fi should make the sync go faster if it seems to be slow or doesn’t want to sync)

Phone Storage & SIM (if possible) – your One X phone doesn’t have a slot for a memory card (which stinks) but it does have a separate storage system built in that will be safe from a reset. And if your phone is currently reading your SIM then you can back up your contacts to your SIM as well. Go into your Contacts > Menu (three dots upper right of screen) > Manage Contacts > Import/Export contacts > Export to phone storage (I also recommend that after you do the phone storage option you do the Export to SIM card as well, if your phone will allow you to).

Call Log

If anyone has called you recently and you need to write down their number you will want to do so. A reset is going to clear the devices call log.

Pictures and Music

Don’t worry about your media files. They are stored to the alternate storage. As long as you don’t specifically tell the phone to “Erase all data” when doing the factory data reset then you won’t lose any of your pictures or videos.

Note: you may also like this other backup and reset guide should you need a guide with a little more detail in the instructions.

Factory Data Reset

Your phones backed up and now you should do a reset. This will set the phone back to its default and if there is a bug, glitch, virus etc. then this reset should fix the issue.

Settings > Storage > Factory data reset (Note: on this page it’s very important that you make sure the “Erase all data – Erase music, pictures, and all data on the storage” is NOT selected. If you want to erase your pictures and media then go ahead and select it. When it’s selected it will have a green checkmark in it) > Reset phone > Erase Everything > the phone will power off and power back on.

When it powers back on then re-setup the phone, log into your Gmail account again, and the reset will be completed and hopefully it was a software issue and you will now be good to go. Note: if you get a screen during the setup asking you to go to a computer to setup the phone then tap the back button until you can’t go back any further and then tap cancel. Doing this will allow you to setup the phone through the phone and you won’t have to use a computer.

Hardware

This is what was mentioned before in the beginning of the article. The HTC One X design has its SIM card in a tray and then requires you to slide that tray into the top of the phone. This tray isn’t always as snug as it should be and the SIM doesn’t connect to the phone correctly. Here is a good example of what I mean.

If this is the pickle that you’re in then try adding some layers of tape to the back of your SIM card to create a tighter fit. Make sure to add the tape to the back-side of the SIM, the side that faces the back of the phone, the SIM is just loose and not resting snug like it needs to be. The tape will push the connection together and the SIM will no longer disconnect from the phone and NO MORE SIM ERROR.

Enjoy

If you do all these tips and your HTC One X is still showing SIM errors then I recommend you look into your alternative options.

I hope you have enjoyed the article and I hope even more that it helped to resolve your issue. Enjoy the phone and if you have any comments don’t hesitate to leave one below. Also don’t hesitate to show your appreciation by liking this article on Facebook or tweeting about it on Twitter.

Hi Vickie, if you can get it to temporarily start working by restarting your phone then it MIGHT be a software issue on the device. Do the Full Backup and Factory data reset on your phone and see if that helps. If your HTC One X is still giving you SIM card error messages then try adding some tape to the back of your SIM to try and make a tighter fit, this should help with your issue, enjoy.

I *think* I may have tracked down a fix for this in cases where it isn't a loose sim card connection.

I did all the usual 'sticky tape on back of sim', 'hidden menu reset', 'factory reset','airplane mode on/off' to no avail. The following information, however, seems to have solved the problem, for me anyway.

The following information is cut and paste from an article posted at androidpolice. I won't link it directly as that may be considered rude here.

"It turns out that the problem is actually a combination of two bugs, one in the Android framework and one in the radio software, each ultimately causing the radio to crash and restart.."
If you are suffering from this bug, there are some workarounds available today. To begin with, many people have been able to prevent this issue by setting the radio to 'WCDMA only' instead of the default 'WCDMA preferred'. Keep in mind, this setting will only last until you restart your phone, at which time it resets back to default. Here's how:
Open your phone dialer
Enter: *#*#4636#*#*
Tap on 'Phone information'
Find the 'Set preferred network type' dropdown
Change the selection to WCDMA only

---------------------------------------------------------
You may wish to try the above and, if it works on your device, you can either flash a fix which is discussed on the original article, or I guess it will be addressed in the KitKat upgrade. Hopefully.

I looked up the article that you referred to in your comment, as the steps you provided seemed to be geared more towards fixing a network related problem as opposed to a SIM card related issue. And though SIM cards are directly involved with communicating with the wireless network that they are associated with and if a SIM card is malfunctioning you will have network related issues the topic described in that article is a little different then the issue covered in this article.

That article mentions a common issue on the Nexus 4 when running on Android 4.3 and suggests that other phones can also experience an issue which seems to result in a sudden loss of cellular connection. If your phone is sporadically disconnecting and reconnecting with your wireless provider most likely even showing a “No Service” or Emergency Calls Only” error message (which would also be shown if the phone was having problems with its SIM card) then the steps mentioned in your comment might be a good temporary fix for the issue.

If you are getting SIM error messages however then changing your phone to use the WCDMA network type instead of the default settings probably isn’t going to help solve the issue. I am glad that the article you mentioned helped you to solve your network problem though, as network problems can be real troublesome and hard to fix.

Thank you for contributing to the site and have a fantastic day my friend.

I've been having this problem with my 1X+ with more and more frequency recently.

Similar to what James Bond said about adding a piece of tape to the back of the SIM card, I did that, but I also added another step.

If you look at how the SIM card fits in the tray, you will see that on one side, the contacts of the SIM card get really close to the metal frame of the tray. I'm wondering if this is shorting the SIM and causing it to lose connection with the network.

So, I put a sliver of tape over the contacts of the SIM card to prevent the possibility of the contacts touching the metal frame of the tray and put a piece of tape on the back of the SIM card for a tighter fit.

Hope it works because it's really annoying to have to keep restarting the phone.

Shouldn't that equal the manufacturer refunding or replacing the handset with a non-defective unit at no charge? Similar to a recall on a car, just without the risk of imminent death... Which hopefully doesn't exist with a normal phone, day to day.

As far as repairing or replacing the phone at no charge… Technically yes, it’s called a warranty. But manufactures rarely admit to an overly common issue with their phones, and if there is a common problem then they MIGHT notify their warranty departments to help the customer avoid the hassle of the standard troubleshooting or advise them on what NOT to try when troubleshooting as it could make the problem worse.

For example if the touch screen seemed to be malfunctioning on a certain model and it was unresponsive in a particular area of the screen because of a hardware defect and the warranty agent performs a hard reset in the belief that it could be the result of a software problem it could make the situation worse as the phones user may not be able to select the options to re-setup the phone again afterwards which may put them in a bigger bind because now the phones owner cannot even rotate the screen to answer phone calls from the functioning part of the touch screen. So the phone goes from an extreme inconvenience to totally non functional. But I digress.

Take comfort in the fact that sending a phone in for repair or having it replaced not only costs the manufacture and possibly your wireless carrier money but also puts a bad stain on both of them as well. Bad PR and upset customers costs companies big bucks in the long run.

All you can really do to avoid such issues yourself is thoroughly review and research a phone before buying it.

A couple of weeks ago I got the 'no sim card detected message'. I took the phone into Vodafone and they gave me a new sim card. Once activated this still did not work so I went back again. They put the sim card in another phone and it worked fine which indicated it wasn't the sim but the phone.

I contacted HTC and they were more than happy for me to send the phone in for repair subject to their assessment. I have had the phone for a year now and its been great.

I was contacted by HTC who stated that the damage to the phone was not covered by the warranty and would be charged to me to fix if i wished to proceed. I wasn't actually given an estimate in the email they sent out or a description of what was wrong with the phone.

I contacted HTC again and they finally sent me a picture which showed the contact points on the phone to be damaged which was indicative of moisture damage. Given that the phone spends its life in my pockets / on my desk I found this hard to believe and was a little disappointed that HTC wouldn't budge on their stance on not fixing it for me. I don't hear of anyone else's smart phones just stopping working or having issues with moisture getting into the contact points. Surely this is a fault with the phone and not user damage? I would happily have claimed on the insurance and not bothered with HTC if I had felt the damage to be my fault.

I am now in the position of having to either pay for the repairs which i am still waiting for a quote on or claim on my insurance. A little disappointed to be honest and will re-think which phone i get next.

Sorry to hear that your HTC One is having issues. SIM card issues are one of the most frustrating types of problems to have on a smartphone as it results in no service. What is the point of owning a cell phone if you can’t send messages or even make and receive phone calls?

When a cell phone manufacture (not just HTC but most major mobile phone manufactures) receive a cell phone for repair under the warranty the first thing that they do after pulling it out of the box is inspect it for any signs of physical or liquid damage. Since warranty only covers manufacture defects the manufacture is no longer responsible for the phone, even if the damage has nothing to do with the issue. If it has damage of any kind the warranty is void.

Most cell phones, especially HTC cell phones, have at least one LDI (Liquid Damage Indicator) sticker(s) which change colors if the phone is exposed to enough moisture to cause damage. This is what manufactures usually look at to determine water damage but they also look for corrosion, rust, or buildup throughout the device especially on the charging port, the battery connection leads, SIM card connect points, and the SD card leads. If they find any signs of damage then the warranty is void.

Moisture or liquid damage can be a funny thing too. You don’t have to drop your cell phone into liquid for your cell phone to become liquid damaged. If you have your phone in the bathroom when taking a shower (a lot of people like to listen to music on their cell phones when taking a bath or shower) then the condensation can get into your phone and cause damage. You know how mirrors get all foggy right after taking a shower? Imagine all of that moisture in your cell phone.

Not to mention sweaty pockets, wet clothes from rainy weather, etc. there are thousands of things that can cause water damage to a cell phone and many of which can happen without us even thinking twice about it. If it happened to my awesome Samsung Galaxy S4 I would be surprised too because I baby my cell phone, but it could happen to me as well. I think a protective case is always a nice investment not just for the big things like dropping your phone accidently but also the unforeseen circumstances that can happen to our cell phones through everyday use. But I digress.

If I was in your position I would wait for the estimate from HTC (which is probably going to be more expensive then the issue warrants) and then weigh that price against your insurance deductable. Insurance would likely be my preferred method as many insurance claims come with an extended warranty option.

Besides you might even be able to fix the phone yourself. Depending on how bad the contact points are you might be able to get a pink eraser (like off a #2 pencil) and just clean off the metal to the point where the connectors will make contact with each other again. Some 99% alcohol might do the trick as well; check out how to fix a water damaged cell phone for some more information about this option. Then if you cannot fix it yourself you can file an insurance claim and get another unit.

Try not to be too angry at HTC, most manufactures have the same policies on these types of things and even though HTC is no longer MY favorite cell phone manufacture (it’s probably my 4th favorite) they are not a terrible company to do business with and their smartphones are usually pretty decent.

Good luck Will, I hope this helps provide you with some ideas on what options might be the best for your current situation. Don’t forget to come back and let us know what option you ended up choosing to go with.

Thanks for visiting the site and if there is anything else I can do to try and help just let me know.

I want to thank you for your suggestion on fixing the HTC One X. My phone was driving me nuts!!!! It’s been just over a year since I had this phone. I love it except for the problem of telling me emergency calls only and no sims card! In the last year I have two phones, and 3 new SIM cards and 2 new trays. I have another year on this phone so I was very frustrated. Well... the tape worked!!!! I can actually talk on the phone again and text without it going to emergency!!!! Thank you for sharing!!!!

Thank you for taking the time to show your appreciation and for letting me know that the suggestions in this article were able to help you fix your HTC One X. I am always grateful for a friendly or kind comment and really appreciate the acknowledgment.

So thank you Aris, I hope that your HTC One X works perfectly for many many years to come.

It appears the tape works more than any other remedy. I myself had the same sim/emergency call error and yes, the tape and cutting away the outer worked!! I have never gone three days without the error and now I have.

Mine is a dual sim ... previously i was using samsung galaxy y in that both of my sims were working good
but after inserting both of my sims only 1 sim is working other one (bsnl) showing EMERGENCY CALLS ONLY.
I also checked the card slots its working fine if i put in the other sim.
Again i put the bsnl sim in my old phone its working but showing error in my new phone .........
Kindly give suggestions to solve this issue..........

It seems that MY HTC ONE S is not detecting sim view one of the sim tray contacts if I am not wrong (the VCC one ) has got eroded. Can we fix this with some jumper or anything ? as the service centre has indicated their inability to carry out any repairs. if yes, someone may pls guide me on this

That’s a good question. I suppose it might depend on how “eroded” the piece actually was… If you think that it might be repairable then I would take it into a local repair shop and get a second opinion and if possible an estimate.

Will anything happen to my apps if I reset the phone? Is there any chance of me losing anything if I do what you said and then reset? Just want to be sure before I do it; have had to Many problems with losing things over the years...

It kind of depends on what “apps” you are referring to. A factory reset does remove all user data from a cell phone so if you have downloaded any apps from the Play Store then you will likely have to re-download those apps again. If the app came pre-installed on the phone then you may need to install a few updates but you won’t necessarily have to reinstall the app again. Trying to backup as much information as possible before performing a reset is usually a good idea and isn’t as hard as you might think.